


Contingency Plans

by aryas_zehral



Category: Defiance (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2013-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-09 09:49:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/772819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aryas_zehral/pseuds/aryas_zehral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Major Nicky Riordon needs a contingency plan...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Contingency Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Tenses are my weakness. In that they get muddled while I write. If you see a mis-tensed sentence, let me know.
> 
> Unbetad.

Nicky first notices her when she brings her tea, placing it carefully in a clear patch on her chaotic desk just at the edge of Nicky’s vision. She looks up, the creases of her confusion crinkling more prominently than they had used to, questioning without words.

“I just, you looked like you needed it Madam Mayor,” the woman - Amanda, Nicky’s tired brain supplies - offers tentatively. Amanda waves a hand in the general direction of the rest of the room. “I’ll just. . .”

Nicky visually relaxes, smooths her face into a smile and reaches for the cup. “Thank you Amanda,” she says, the dismissal clear, but not unkind, in her voice. As the cup reaches her lips, the sweetness filling her nose, her eyes flicker closed. It is not entirely an act. The first taste, just on her lips, the tip of her tongue, is perfect. She drinks gratefully before opening her eyes.

Amanda is still there, watching her, but Nicky had known that, hadn’t heard her move away. Caught, Amanda ducks her head almost shyly and goes back to her cleaning. Nicky watches her as she works, mind contemplative, as she reviews the information she has about the woman. She has a sister, a whore, who has recently taken over the brothel in town and seems to be ... as respected as a whore can be - popular with the miners, good for the economy, bad for the lawkeepers, questionable influence on the town. She is a gaudy distraction, noisy and cheap, for the council members who would ordinarily look more closely at what Nicky is doing and so Nicky is willing to support her, for now. Nicky has just two years left before she must give up her mayorship and the deadline, and her lack of progress, irritates her. She needs to be making contingency plans.

Amanda could work. She’s sweet, thoughtful, but not that smart. She stands by her sister regardless of her sister’s life choices, which is enough to make her seem both progressive enough to the idiot majority and traditional enough for the rest. She gets on well with the alien residents in the town - Nicky’s heard her speak to the Castithan’s in their own language- so that will help with the vote. More importantly she has little sense of self worth and, if Nicky plays her cards right, she could have her perfect, clueless, expendable successor, too amazed at being picked to notice that Nicky is destroying the town out from under her. 

Yes, Nicky thinks, Amanda could just might do.

She places the cup down on the table and turns back to her plans.


End file.
